


Stay

by mystichoi



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicide Attempt, Unrequited Love, possessive behavior?, slow burn?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-20 08:10:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9482252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystichoi/pseuds/mystichoi
Summary: ❛please stay ... you are the only one who makes life a little more tolerable.❜mina sahng seemed content with her life at the moment. she was independent, went to school, had her own job, paid her own bills. she was passing by with flying colors until one fateful night.although meeting him made her life do a complete 360, she couldn't say she regretted meeting him. him and all his emotional baggage.





	1. the day we met

There are some situations in life that no one could ever prepare you for. No informal blog, no survivor, no one could prepare another for such situations where someone's life is dangling by a thread.

Mina couldn't have been prepared. How could she have? She was just a regular twenty one year old girl who went to school, lived by herself and payed for her own bills. She had few friends that went to the same college as her, and she talked to her father every once in a while. She went out with her friends when she could, she prioritized school when she needed to like anyone else.

She's had her hardships in life, but she learned to push it to the farthest depths of her mind so it would no longer interfere with her present life. She's reached her low points and her high points like anyone else would.

But this situation? She wasn't sure if this was a common occurrence for others her age or anyone for that matter.

Mina had just left her job for the day after working a twelve hour shift - and she was very, very tired. All she wanted to do was have a smoke and head home where she could sleep. (That was another thing - she had bad habits just like anyone else would.) She headed over to a local bridge that crossed over a river. However, this river was rather dangerous. The bridge was about five yards high, and there was only a small metal bar fence that prevented people from falling in. There had been cases of people drowning or hitting their head against the jagged rocks that awaited just under the surface. There'd been a handful of people who had died there, causing for the city to put up warning signs nearly all over the bridge.

But she liked the calming sound the rushing of water made, so she decided to take a short smoke break before walking home.

Slender fingers dug into her black leather purse and pulled out her pack of cigarettes. The process was short as she pulled out one lone cigarette and lit it, taking in and welcoming the slight burning sensation that pricked at her throat as she inhaled. She leaned against the railing with her forearms and looked down at the river, watching the water rush through at a fast pace. Due to the dim lighting provided by the night sky, she could faintly see the rocks resting underneath the surface. She shuddered at the thought of all the people who had lost their lives here.

With another drag of her cigarette, Mina turned her head to glance at the only other person walking on the bridge. A boy no older than her with a frail appearance looked around warily as he walked, shivering at the cold nipping at his exposed skin. Loosing interest in the guy, she looked away from him and focused her attention back onto the river. She let out a puff of smoke through her slightly chapped lips, tapping the cigarette with the pad of her thumb to remove the excess ash.

Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention yet again. She turned her eyes to see the same guy - however, he was stepping over the railing and onto the very edge of the bridge. Mina's eyes widened and her breath faulted for a few moments.

 _Shit. Shit! Don't tell me he's planning ..._ She thought.

"Um, excuse me?" She called out, throwing her cigarette to the ground and crushing it with the heel of her shoe.

The guy didn't respond. His eyes were set at the water below him, hands clenching the railing to the point where his knuckles had turned white.

Mina tried again. "It's dangerous to be on the edge. The river is dangerous."

A quiet 'I know' left the man. If it had not been eerily quiet - disregarding the gushing water below them - she would have not heard him.

"So what, you're just going to jump? Take a swim?" She questioned, wincing internally at how sarcastic it sounded. "Can you please come over the railing? I don't want to see you get hurt."

His head lifted slowly from its downward position. He turned his head to look at her, eyes narrowing. The glare he sent towards her was harsh and judging, wanting to make her cower where she stood. "Why do you care? What I do has nothing to do with you,"

"This doesn't have to do with me. But there are people who would care if you got hurt," She replied. God, she had no idea how to help this guy. She could say one wrong thing and everything would be over. 

"No there isn't!" He snapped, eyes blazing. 

Mina tried not to flinch at his tone. "If you believe there isn't ... then you now have one person who does."

"Shut up. Go away. I want to be in peace." He muttered. Mina panicked for a mere second when color was returning to his knuckles, his grip loosening on the railing.

"Please don't! Trust me, this isn't the way to go. What you feel right now ... it's just temporary. Whatever is holding you down will release you." She exclaimed, lunging forward to reach out and grab his wrist. She faltered when he glared at her once again.

His hands gripped the railing tightly again."Whatever's holding me down? Haha ... he won't let me go. He's got his claws so deeply embedded in me ... I just want him to go away! He brings me nothing but pain and suffering and I just want to _leave_!"

Ah... what was she to say to that?

Mina noticed the white band on his wrist, indicating that he had recently been in the hospital. Now that she was closer, she could read the words on the band - including his name.

 _Choi, Saeran_.

She sighed. "I can't say he'll leave you alone ... whoever this 'he' is. But maybe you need to leave him? And I don't mean leaving this world. Just ... leaving him."

"He'll find me. It's useless. This is the only way." Saeran said, though his grip stayed tight on the railing.

"Saeran, please dont." She pleaded. This seemed to be getting no where. He was so set on ending everything, and Mina had no idea on how to convince him.

He tensed visibly. "... How do you know my name? How?"

 _Shit_. "Um... your hospital band says it. Sorry, I should have asked ..."

He didn't say anything as he glanced down at his wrist. He sucked his teeth in annoyance before lifting his other hand off of the railing to reach towards his wrist. A gasp left his lips as he suddenly lost balance and he began to lurch forward. Mina instinctively lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his mid section, pulling him back and flush against her. Her arms strained as she tried to keep him up, unwilling to let him go. He was incredibly stiff under her arms.

"L-Let me go." Saeran commanded, pulling at her arms and growled in annoyance when she didn't budge.

"Promise me you won't let go when I do. Promise me you'll come back and fight your demons." Mina pleaded once more.

"Stop it! I don't know you! I don't have to promise you anything!" He snarled, clamping his hands on her forearms. "You'll leave just like everyone else! I'm insignificant to you, I don't matter! So let me go!"

She loosened her arms. She shouldn't be arguing with him. She should be listening - and then get him help. "I'm sorry. It's just ... every life is valuable, Saeran. We all have a purpose. I don't care if you've heard this before, but you need to hear it again. We all belong here. We can't find our purpose if we're dead, right? So come on. I'm not saying the moment you step over you'll find it, but one day you will."

He was quiet for a few moments. His grip on her loosened as well. "Is that something you promise?"

"I'm not promising anything. ... I haven't found the reason why I exist, but I will continue fighting to find it."

Mina was now lightly touching him. Her arms were still around him, but it wasn't in the bone crushing grip that it was before. His arms fell to his sides and his head was no longer bowed; he looked to the night sky. The town where they lived was a lot more forest than civilization, though there was still a large population. But the night sky here was remarkable - the stars were always so bright.

"I've never heard it before," He spoke quietly. "Never."

She stared at the back of his white haired head. She noticed that the tips were a shade of red, almost a pink shade. She'd only briefly seen glimpses of his face, but it wasn't enough to form a solid picture in her mind. He felt just as he appeared - frail and skinny. He appeared taller than her and his shoulders were a lot broader. But she shouldn't be painting a mental image of him. She should be helping him.

Mina was brought out of her thoughts when he moved again. He brought his hand around to the railing and turned his body around carefully, so that he was now facing her. She wanted to look away when she met his gaze. She could tell now that his eyes were an odd shade of mint green, and he looked a little sickly.

"I'm not going to jump," He stated. "I'll come over the railing."

She could nearly jump in joy, but she decided not to. Taking a step back, and let her arms fall to her side and watched as Saeran pulled himself over the railing. He let out a small huff as he now stood in front of her with a blank expression.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" Mina questioned once the silence became unbearable.

He looked away. "No."

She was contemplating asking whether or not she should suggest calling his parents when an unfamiliar voice had called out.

"Saeran!"

The pair both looked at the end of the bridge to see a guy standing there, a relieved look on his face. His hair was red and he had glasses perched on his nose. The closer he got, the more Mina realized how much he looked like Saeran. They looked ... identical?

"Dammit!" Saeran exclaimed. "Why are you here?!"

Mina looked between the two with a confused look. Was this person the 'he' Saeran referred to?

"Saeran, please. The longer we stay out, the more dangerous it is!" The boy pleaded. "Come on, let's just go home."

"No! I'm not going anywhere with you!" He yelled. "I won't go back! I won't, I won't..."

"Saeran," She said in a calm voice. "Is this him?"

He looked over at her and clenched his jaw. He nodded.

She looked over at the boy who was identical to Saeran. He was giving her a quizzical look. "If he doesn't feel safe with you or uncomfortable then he should not be pressured."

"Don't try to understand a problem you know nothing about." He wasn't wrong about that. "Saeran, please don't make me do this the hard way."

Mina felt like it wasn't her place to be here. She helped someone out of possible suicide, but this problem in front of her was out of her hands. They had to be related - no one could look so much like another without being related. Family feuds shouldn't be interfered by strangers. 

"Um... I should go." Mina said, interrupting their current argument. "I hope I helped, Saeran."

She went to back away but stopped when Saeran reached out to grab her. He was unsuccessful, since the other guy grabbed him and pulled him away. Saeran tried to push away from him, but his attempts were futile. He was tired and weak, and didn't have enough strength to overpower the person who shared his features.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Saeran exclaimed, trying to pull away. "I don't want to go with you! Let me go!"

Mina felt uncomfortable having to leave Saeran with the guy he despised so much. She should call the authorities, right?

"Go, will you?" The guy snapped. Mina flinched at his tone. His eyes softened in the slightest. "Please. This situation doesn't involve you."

With guilt clawing at her heart, she bowed her head and turned on her heels. She ignored Saeran's pleads as she walked away. After tonight, she would not be able to dream or think of anything else other than the white haired boy who she left in the hands of the man he despised the most.

Nothing could have prepared Mina for this eventful night. Nothing could have prepared her for what's to come.


	2. partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which she has a partner for anatomy class.

Weeks had passed since Mina last saw Saeran.

Every moment that had passed by, she could not stop her mind from thinking about him. She wondered if he was okay, if he managed to keep himself alive and rid himself of his dark thoughts. But that was dumb of her to think. He was mentally unstable, and his problems could not be cured within a couple of weeks. It could take months to heal whatever wounds poisoned his thoughts.

Her dreams were plagued by him as well. He never did anything bad in her dreams. Most of the time, she would be aware that he was near but never engaged with him. The times that she would, he was mostly calm and didn't snap or yell at her. Sometimes, she dreamed that she couldn't save him. That'd he would be just out of reach and she was left to watch him plummet to his inevitable death. Those nights, she found herself not getting much sleep.

Mina tried looking for him. Well, her version of looking was lingering around the bridge after work to see if he'd show up.

He never did.

She tried looking him up on the internet but found absolutely nothing. No social media at all, no pictures, nothing. 

Although she wanted to find him with every fiber of her being just to see if he was okay, she realized that he was making her focus less and less on school. She had a big project coming up and she needed all her attention to be on her school work.

Mina often went to the local library to study whenever she was off from work. She would sometimes go to her school's library for better resources, but she didn't feel like making that thirty minute drive just to get to the city.

The library was almost always empty, expect for a few parents with their children or students like her here and there. Today was relatively empty, and she was thankful for that.

Mina pulled her obnoxiously long violet hair into a loose ponytail, flicking the bangs that hung over her blue eyes in place. Her painted nails rapped against the smooth wood of the table subconsciously. Her outfit was rather casual - she opted for an oversized black button up cardigan with a white shirt underneath, along with jeans that were ripped from her mid thigh to her knees. Her shoes were beaten up and dirty, but they were her favorite pair of converse so she didn't mind.

She was currently waiting for her partner to show up. She and her partner had to write a research paper together and create a power point that they were to present. So far, her partner was already late. She didn't blame him, though. It was quite a nuisance having to drive from the city all the way out to a secluded town that one could get lost in if they didn't have proper directions.

The sound of doors opening caught her attention. She leaned back in her wooden chair and glanced down one of the aisles of the library, spotting her partner hastily typing away on his phone.

"Yoosung," Mina called out. The boy glanced up from his phone, purple eyes looking around to find the person who called for him. He gave a timid smile when his gaze landed on her, which she returned.

Yoosung made his way towards Mina, sitting on the seat in front of her. He pulled his backpack off and placed it on the table. "Hello, Mina. Sorry I'm so late, my Yuber driver got lost."

"It's fine," She reassured. She took out her computer from her bag and placed it on the table. "It's normal for people to get lost around here."

"Oh yeah, I know. I have a friend who lives around here." Yoosung explained as he pulled out his textbook.

"I was thinking that we could switch locations every time we meet up," Mina suggested. "One time we meet here, the next we could meet at the campus library, maybe a café, something like that."

Yoosung nodded. "Yeah! That'd be great. We could visit this coffee shop I work at. Maybe I could make you a cup of coffee?"

Mina laughed softly, a small smile gracing her features. "That'd be nice, Yoosung."

Small talk was then cut short once Mina opened up the word document and instructed Yoosung to find information in the textbook about their topic. She took note on how easily he could break his concentration if they so much as mentioned something off topic. But she knew he was very smart — there would be times where he'd spew information without having to look at the book. He was even shocked at himself at everything he had knew.

She knew that this project would take quite a lot of time if he were her partner.

* * *

 They stayed in the library for a couple of hours. It was beginning to grow dark outside, and they had decided to close up shop and continue on another day. Mina find that she enjoyed Yoosung's company, and that's what led them to this very moment.

She had offered to buy him coffee at a local shop in the town, which happened to be one of her favorites. He had easily accepted, since he as well enjoyed her presence and wanted to know more about her.

"It sounds pretty cool, Yoosung. Pretty much any game where I can create my own character is an instant fave in my book," Mina said as she took a sip of her espresso. 

Yoosung nodded. "LOLOL is a really good game, you'll like it. I could help you level up quickly!"

"I'd probably suck, though. The last game I've played is Groundrim, and I played that back in high school." She paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Though I did manage to reach level 52 and had Daedric armor,"

"Oh, I used to play that too! Though I have to brag, I got to level 110 and had both Daedric armor and the Ebony Mail." Yoosung bragged playfully.

Mina pouted. "I remember trying to find the Ebony Mail! I could never find the person who gave the quest to obtain it."

Yoosung opened his mouth to reply when his phone suddenly went off loudly, startling the pair and a few people around them. He muttered a small apology before checking his phone, eyebrows furrowed. He lowered the sound on his phone as it kept going off due to the income of messages he was receiving.

"Aren't you popular, Yoosung." Mina teased, taking the final sip of her espresso.

He typed away on his phone, then glancing up at the violet haired girl with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that, Mina. I, uh, have to get going now."

"That's fine. Just don't forget about our next meeting, okay?" Mina said as she stood up along with Yoosung.

He whined. "That was one time!"

She only laughed. They walked out of the coffee shop together, chatting about what they should research for their topic as they waited for Yoosung's Yuber. She had offered to pay for it, but he politely declined. Mina had already bought him his coffee, and he liked he'd be asking for too much if he allowed her to pay for his ride as well.

Mina said her goodbye's once his car arrived. She went to turn around to walk away, but Yoosung stopped her.

"Mina!" He called out, halting her in her place. "Um... this organization that I'm apart of is hosting a party two days from now. I can get you invited, if you like?"

She thought for a few moments. It was kind of him to invite her, even though they didn't really know each other much. But she could tell he was a good person. She didn't have anything planned for the next couple of days, so why not? Plus, she needed to get her mind off of this so called Saeran.

"Yeah ... I'd love that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a filler chapter bYe
> 
> i don't think saeran will be in the next few chapters
> 
> i don't rly like this chapter but i wanna start the next one already


	3. familiar faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which she prepares for a party.

If Mina was good anything, she was a professional at procrastination.

She had gotten the invitation to the party the same night Yoosung had offered to invite her. It seemed a little ... more upper class than she was - but if Yoosung was going then she assumed it was okay for her to go. But, like a true college student, she waited until the day of to go out and buy a dress for the party.

However, she had no idea what level of formal this party was. She wasn't about to call Yoosung because she highly doubted that he could help her choose a dress. She didn't feel like calling any of her other friends to help either, since they'd only distract her.

The party was starting fairly which was bothersome enough. Then, she managed to wake up extremely late, which only gave her three hours until the party started. What kind of party started at twelve in the afternoon?!

Now, here Mina was, hauling ass to the nearest mall and hurriedly looking through dresses that were a little past her price point. She kept checking the time on her phone, thinking that she spent ten minutes per rack when in reality, it only took her a minute.

She let out an exasperated sigh and pulled out a random black dress, inspecting it closely. It was a fit and flare dress with white intricate patterns from the waist up. It was also a halter top with the back exposed.

This'll do.

Mina took the dress and grabbed a pair of shoes that matched with the dress before paying for everything and leaving the store quickly. The whole trip only took around thirty minutes, but to her it took way too long.

The moment she had gotten home, she practically threw herself into the shower and cleaned up as fast as she could. As she exited the shower, she prepped her skin for the makeup she needed to apply all while brushing her wet, tangled hair. At moments like these, she cursed herself for having such lengthy hair. She checked the time on her phone and nearly screamed. She was never going to get there on time.

Mina tried to reason with herself that she didn't have to be there exactly at twelve. She knew that she'd get incredibly stressed and anxious if she arrived late somewhere.  The last thing she needed to do was be upset and in a bad mood at the party.

"Okay, let's do this."

* * *

 

As she predicted, she took longer than she should've and the party had already started. Mika could have gone faster, but make up had to be done with the most utmost care — especially the winged eyeliner she seemed to always suck at. But she looked presentable enough to go to the party.

Mina left her apartment and headed down to the parking lot, clutch in one hand and her car keys in the other. She didn't particularly like driving, but she was forced to in order to go back and forth from home to school. If she could have a chauffeur, she definitely would've gotten one.

She pulled out the printed out invitation from her clutch once she was a seated in her car and typed in the address into her car's GPS. She nearly groaned at the amount of time it would take to get to the venue where the party was being held.

Mina grumbled to herself as she pulled out her phone and typed in Yoosung's number, putting her phone to her ear once the call connected.

_"Hey, Mina! Where are you?"_

"Yeah, about that ... I'm going to be a little late." She explained as she began to pull out of her parking lot. "My smart self decided to wait until the very last minute to get everything together."

Yoosung laughed, the pleasant noise echoing through the phone. _"Don't worry, I did too! I got everything together last night."_

"Oh no, yours was a reasonable procrastination. I got everything ready about thirty minutes ago." Mina said, silently cursing at her GPS for making her take a wrong turn.

_"Wow... and you're still going to come?"_

"Of course! You invited me, so I have to go." She replied.

_"Haha, okay. Are you driving right now?"_

Mina honked angrily at the car who cut her off. "Yes Sir."

_"Oh! I'll let you go then. Drive safe and see you at the party. Bye!"_

Yoosung didn't allow Mina to say her goodbye as he hung up rather quickly. She tossed her phone onto the passenger's seat and prayed that no police officer saw her on the phone while driving.

The drive wasn't too bad — she lost her temper at points at the reckless drivers. It was nothing new for her, since she always seemed to struggle to keep a level head while driving.

Once she approached the venue, Mina get extremely out of place. She took in all the guests that walked up the steps and passed through security, all wearing pretty gowns and dresses or expensive suits. They all looked rather important as well, as if they all were the heads of some large, money-making corporations.

Mina pulled into valet and nearly strangled herself once she saw the price. The valet workers opened the door for her, and she reluctantly handed her car keys along with the $30 dollars needed to use the valet.

She tightly gripped her clutch and began to follow after the other guests that were beginning to thin out. She checked her phone to see if Yoosung had called or texted her, but she had no notifications.

Mina showed her printed invitation to the security guards, which they took and allowed her into the party. Once she laid her eyes upon the venue she was standing in, her jaw dropped.

Besides the large mass of guests, she could clearly see the pristine marble floors and the crystal chandeliers hanging overhead. Marble pillars stood around the venue as well. She glanced up to the ceiling to see intricate paintings of what appeared to be angels and whatnot. She noticed the bar off to the left of her and the snack bar filled with many options of food off to her right. There was a stage to the far end of the venue that was currently unoccupied.

Mina tried to find the familiar blond hair that belong to Yoosung but there were far too many guests to be able to pick him out. Not to mention all the guests seemed to be incredibly tall, and Yoosung himself wasn't that tall to begin with.

"Mina!"

She turned to the familiar voice and smiled, seeing Yoosung weave through the crowd with his violet eyes set on her.

She made the trip less difficult for him and met him halfway.

"You made it!" Yoosung said happily. "What do you think?"

Mina let out a small, breathless sigh. "This is ... a lot. A good a lot."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. We needed to get a bigger venue because we invited a lot more guests than the last party."

"There's a lot of people here... and they all look really important. Should I be here?" Mina stated, blue eyes glancing around the ground.

"Yes! It's okay if you're here, Mina. I invited you. Oh! That reminds me," Yoosung gently grabbed Mina's hand and tugged on it. "Come meet my friends!"

When Yoosung said friends, she expected to see a group of people like him that played his little LOLOL game. What she did not expect was to see the Jumin Han and his assistant Jaehee Kang, and the actor Zen that one of her friends is always fawning over.

"Guys, this is Mina who I told you about. Mina, this is Zen," He pointed to the silver haired actor, "Jumin Han," He pointed to the extremely handsome corporate heir, "and Jaehee Kang." He pointed to the woman with a pixie cut and beautiful amber eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Mina said with a small smile. "You guys are pretty well known. But it's a pleasure to meet you all."

Zen grasped Mina's other hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, pretty lady."

Yoosung slapped Zen's hand away from Mina. "Hey, stop flirting with every girl you see!"

 "Ah, got it. Girlfriend is off limits right?" Zen teased as he pat Yoosung's shoulder.

"Uh, w-we're not dating." Yoosung protested, a furious blush forming on his cheeks. Mina laughed at the sight. He was simply adorable.

"Oh! Saeyoung and Naree here." Yoosung exclaimed. Mina followed Yoosung's gaze, gaze settling on a familiar mop of red hair. Her eyes instantly narrowed as the supposed 'Seven' met her gaze, a look of shock crossing his attractive features. Mina paid no attention to the woman beside her who looked between the pair with a confused expression.

"Saeyoung?" Mina said as she turned to look at Yoosung. "His name is Saeyoung?"

"Yeah!" Yoosung answered enthusiastically. He turned her body around to face to red haired man, letting his hand linger on the dip of her back. "Saeyoung, Naree! This is Mina."

Mina spoke before they could. "I know who he is. Can I speak with you? Privately?"

"Ah ... you know him?" Yoosung said hesitantly. Saeyoung must've known what the young boy was thinking of since he shook his head at him.

"Okay. We'll be right back." Saeyoung said. He kissed Naree on the cheek before motioning Mina to follow him.

Unease settled within Mina as she followed Saeyoung. His posture was tense as he led her off to the side of the venue that appeared to be closed off and empty from the party. He led her to a pillar which he leaned against, arms crossed and eyes set on hers. His expression was solemn and unreadable.

"So ... Saeran. Is he okay?" Mina began, nervously picking at the hem of her dress.

Saeyoung's eyes narrowed in the slightest. "He's fine. He told you his name?"

"No," She paused, thinking back to the fateful night she met him. She recalled his hospital band he wore on his wrist. "I read his hospital band."

"Huh. He doesn't know your name." He said.

"Has he asked about me?" Mina internally cringed as her question. He was mentally unstable, and she wanted to know if she'd ever crossed his mind. She should be asking more relevant questions.

He shrugged. "Maybe once. He doesn't talk much."

"Really? Last time I saw him, he was doing a whole lot of it, and he seemed to hate you quite a bit. If I didn't know any better-"

"You don't." Saeyoung interrupted. He pushed himself off of the pillar and took a step towards Mina, expression growing serious. "I told you before that you don't understand half of what is going on. So please don't act like it matters to you if you don't even know him.

Mina scoffed. "It's going to matter to me, alright? I saw him at his lowest point, Saeyoung. I can't say that I 'saved' him, but I at least stopped him, alright? You can't expect someone not to care after witnessing something like that."

Amber eyes stared quizzically into her own. He could quite fathom why this girl that stood in front of him cared so much for his twin brother when all she knew about him was his name and that he was suicidal. However he was thankful for her since she was able to stop his brother from ending his life. She could've just ignored Saeran and gone on with her day, but she had decided to stop and help him.

Saeyoung sighed and shut him eyes momentarily, running his fingers through his somewhat tame red hair. 

"Can you at least answer me honestly?" She questioned. He opened his eyes and met her gaze once again. He still couldn't understand why she cared so much.

"He promised me he wouldn't hurt himself. He's not so angry anymore. Like I told you, he doesn't talk much anymore. He's just really ... introverted." Saeyoung explained. He left his body grow less tense at the sight of her relieved expression. He'd have to find out more about this girl.

Mina felt a smile daring to tug at her lips. "That's good, I guess. It'd be nice if I could see him with my own two eyes, but he's not coming, is he?"

Saeyoung shook his head. "He doesn't like big crowds, and this party is particularly full."

"Well, I shouldn't keep you away for too long. We should go back to everyone else." She said, a small sigh escaping her lips. She began to walk away until a hand wrapped around her wrist and paused her movements. She turned her body just enough to look at Saeyoung.

"Before we go back, I have to ask this." He stated, voice holding no humor. Mina nodded, hoping that it wasn't nothing too serious about Saeran. "Are you and Yoosung a thing? Better yet, are you two using protection?"

She nearly choked on thin air. She ripped her hand from Saeyoung's grip, shooting a glare in his direction. He took no offence to it and only laughed. She hastily replied with a 'No' and tried her best to calm the heated blush that had erupted on her cheeks. She hoped her makeup concealed the blush, but judging by his reaction, it wasn't.

Mina grumbled incoherent words to herself as she walked back to Yoosung and his friends. The moment Yoosung's violet eyes laid upon her, he instantly smiled and came over to her. 

In that moment, he resembled a little puppy running to greet his owner. ~~_Oh, calm your thoughts Mina._~~

"Hey, is everything alright?" Yoosung questioned once he stood in front of her.

She returned his smile. "Yeah! I just needed to ask him something. But I could kind of use a drink right now. Want to come with?"

Mina soon learned to regret invited Yoosung to get a drink with her because of how much of a lightweight he was. It didn't help that Saeyoung had randomly appeared with Zen and encouraged him to take more drinks.

That night she had also learned how ... eccentric Saeyoung really was. According to Zen, the way he was acting was a much more diluted way of how he used to be. She had then also learned how much of a flirt and narcissistic Zen truly was, which happened to be quite a turn off for Mina. She couldn't deny the fact that he was incredibly handsome. It was just his personality that had ruined it for her.

She interacted very little with the corporate heir and his assistant but she didn't mind. Simply being in such a powerful presence like his was enough for her. Saeyoung's girlfriend was incredibly nice and welcoming, however she was just was weird as her boyfriend. Yoosung was too drunk off his ass to form a solid sentence.

Once the sky began to grow dark, the party came to a close. She chose to stay behind and help clean up the venue. Yoosung had to be escorted home by a reluctant Zen, leaving Mina with his group of friends. Jumin offered to give her a ride home with his chauffeur, and she had mentally cursed at herself for driving herself here. After she had said her good byes to every one (and a rather awkward goodbye from Saeyoung) and headed home.

When she got home, she was rather mentally and physically tired. Although it was still early in the night, she wanted nothing more but to sleep. She got ready for bed and fell onto her bed, landing on her back and her eyes staring up at the ceiling. Not bothering to tuck herself into her blankets, she shut her eyes and allowed herself to succumb into unconsciousness.

That night, she dreamt of Saeran once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so like yes this chapter sucks i am aware but i have been writing this for like two months and i cri
> 
> i should be writing a research paper tHATS DUE TODAY AT SIX but hello priorities 
> 
> if i am not mistaken and i can actually get the next chapter up, saeran will make a wild appearance in the next one ok bye
> 
> also mc is naree ok now bye
> 
> [not edited]

**Author's Note:**

> soooo...
> 
> i've never written anything like this before. i usually write darker themes but i never touched upon the topic of suicide. it's kind of hard to do :/
> 
> also, i apologize to anyone who saw my stupid mistake of publishing this story while i was writing it lol
> 
> heh im not very confident about this but oh well 
> 
> just a few notes so no one gets confused:  
> -MC is a character in the book, she's going to be married to Saeyoung and all that stuff.  
> -Where this is taking place is not in a populated area. it's closer to where saeyoung actually lives, so i picture it to be like a town that isnt small but is heavily forested. saeyoung would live on the outskirts. bUT U CAN IMAGINE IT HOW U WANT IT IDK


End file.
